Tools for Drywall Instillation

Hanging drywall requires a set of skills that are taught and perfected over years of work. Even after years of training, a drywall hanger is only as good as the materials and tools they have available to them. There are more tools for the job than you may even be aware of. In order to jog your memory or help stock up on essential tools, here’s a list of the most important tools needed to get the job done right.

T-Square

Every drywall installation can be made easier with a t-square. These are by far the most expensive tool needed, but worth every penny. The t-square is long enough to guide straight cuts and also double check those ever important 90 degree angles. This tool is also handy in other projects too. It never hurts to have one handy.

Drywall Hammer

Hanging drywall requires a special hammer to help you achieve clean, quality results. The first, and most important feature, of a drywall hammer is the beveled and waffled hammer head. The head has a slight bevel that eliminates tearing of the outer paper on the drywall. A regular hammer will shred drywall. Additionally, the waffled head helps give the area your are hitting some texture. The texture allows the spackle to adhere stronger to patch areas and provides a better finish overall. Finally, most drywall hammers include an axe like end. Traditional hammers have a pry bar end, but drywalls hammers have the sharp edge to score and cut through drywall.

Drywall Knife

Drywall knives are another extremely important tool. They allow you to apply spackle evenly and effectively. Without it, you’ll be hard pressed to find another tool to do the job quite the same way. Drywall knives come in different sizes for all kinds of different jobs. From patchwork to sealing corners, there is a knife out there to work with you. A good drywall installer should have a few different sized knives to get the job done.

Drill

Drywall certainly does not hang all by itself. Drywall is attached to metal or wood framing behind it. Most drywall is hung using special drywall nails that are long enough to get through the drywall and the framing behind it. A drill will be vital in this step of the process. The type of drill you want is completely up to you. Most professional installers use a special drill that automatically feeds a new screw into position for faster fastening. For jobs big or small, a drill will cut down significantly on installation time.

Sanding Equipment

Sanding is the final step before paint and important to get right. In order for the paint to stick better and for the wall to look like one pristine surface, quite a bit of sanding is necessary. All the spackle applied to cover screw holes, small gaps between sheets of drywall, and corners, needs to be sanded down for a nice finishing look. Sandpaper and sanding poles, will be enough to get the job done. Luckily these items are fairly inexpensive. A drywall installer takes pride in a clean finish and surface for paint. Without sandpaper and some elbow grease, achieving a perfect canvas will be impossible.